Trouble in the Land of Dwarves
Chapter 3
Making New Friends
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Friar Tub spit out his food and
jumped up with a shout! "It wasn't me! I
didn't wake you up! It was
Billy!"
But Maid Madelyn yelled
at them before anyone else could speak.
"None of you woke me up this time! I just
heard this little girl crying for help and
came out to see what was going on. You
four were being rude, not even listening to
her so I shot the arrow to get your attention!
I think we should listen to her! It sounds
important. Now are you slobs going to
listen to her, or am I going to have to make
a �ricochet rump� shot with an arrow or
two?"
They all dropped their
weapons and immediately returned to the
camp fire hanging their heads liked scolded
puppies. Maid Madelyn put out the fire on
her arrow and jumped down next to the
Princess.
�Are you alright?�
she asked.
Nataleigh nodded
with a sniffle.
�You�ll have to
forgive those boys. They can be a bit
jumpy at times. But there�s no excuse for
them treatin� a lady like that, even if she is
large.� Madelyn stuttered. �I mean, um,
not that you�re, uh, large like Friar Tub. I
mean, um, tall that�s all.�
�That�s ok.� Nataleigh assured her.
�I know I must look a bit frightful being so
tall. It�s just that I�m not a dwarf. I�m a
human from the Crystal Castle on Ivory
mountain.�
Maid Madelyn
looked puzzled. �A human? Is that the
same as a giant?�
�No, no!�
Nataleigh explained. �My dad isn�t quite as
tall as a giant, and I won�t get that big
either. We�re just like you, only we have
longer legs and arms that make us stand
taller.�
�I�ve never seen one like
you before.� Madelyn said. �But I have
heard of the Crystal Castle. I always
thought it was just a legend.�
�My
father hid it among the clouds long ago for
our safety.� Nataleigh continued. �He built
it so that my brother, Nathan, and I would
have a safe place to play. He gave us a
special mirror that allows us to watch your
world without being in danger and we�re
not supposed to leave the castle for
anything, but I had to this time!�
�Yes. You spoke about warning King
Balderdash about some terrible danger!�
Maid Madelyn remembered. �What is it?
You must come down and tell all of us.
They will behave now, I promise
you.�
She took Nataleigh by the
arm and led her to the edge of the wooden
platform that they stood on. Then she
placed a vine rope in her hand and
instructed her to place her feet in the loop at
the bottom. The princess then followed the
woodland maiden�s lead as she stepped off
the platform and was slowly lowered to the
ground by Tiny Bud who held the other end
on the ground below.
Madelyn
was right when she had promised that the
men would behave now. Tiny Bud took her
hand and helped her loosen her foot from
the rope and then they all sat like perfect
gentlemen as she began to tell them the
danger she saw in her mirror earlier that
morning.
Chapter 4
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